Darren Adam Heitner, Esq. is the Founder of HEITNER LEGAL, Founder/CEO of Dynasty Dealings, LLC, Professor of Sports Law at the University of Florida and University of Florida Levin College of Law and Founder/Chief Editor of Sports Agent Blog, a leading niche industry publication. He is an attorney licensed to practice on the state and federal level, and focuses on sports, entertainment, and intellectual property litigation and transactional work.
Darren is the author of How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know (published by the American Bar Association), Contributing Writer of An Athlete’s Guide to Agents, 5th Edition, and has authored many sports, entertainment and intellectual property-related Law Journal articles.
Darren has a Bachelors of Arts from the University of Florida and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the same institution.

Jay-Z and Roc Nation Sports have an announcement to make. There are #NEWRULES in effect. That, and Roc Nation Sports, along with Creative Artists Agency, have signed three-time NBA All-Star Kevin Durant.

The announcement was officially made on the Roc Nation website with an oversized image featuring Jay-Z and Kevin Durant making the professional relationship official through the execution of certain documents. Since the headline mentions Creative Artists Agency’s involvement in Durant’s future representation, it is currently assumed that CAA will be in charge of all team contract negotiations while Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports will handle Durant’s affairs off of the court. If that is the structure of the relationship, then CAA will likely have limited involvement in Durant’s career for the time being; Durant is currently in the middle of a 5-year, $89 million maximum rookie scale extension that he signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

There are certainly #NEWRULES in play with Jay-Z’s entrance into the world of sports representation. It seems as though he has literally had his pick at the players he wishes to represent. First, it was New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano. While he is not listed as a client on the Roc Nation website, it has been said that New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz is a client for marketing purposes. WNBA rookie Skylar Diggins and New York Jets rookie Geno Smith are Roc Nation Sports clients as well. And now Durant is a part of “La Familia”.

Jay-Z puts his signature on paperwork that officially makes him the representative of NBA star Kevin Durant. (Photo Courtesy of Roc Nation Sports)

The overblown picture under the headline, Kevin Durant Joins The Roc Nation Sports/CAA Family also includes a couple of quotes. One from Durant, which says, “Grateful for this opportunity with Roc Nation Sports. It’s go time.” The other from Shawn “Jay Z” Carter, “He has a 90.5 free throw shooting rate, the youngest player in NBA HISTORY to join the 50-40-90 Club, a giving individual and a legend in the making. What more can I say?”

Of course “What More Can I Say” a track on The Black Album by Jay-Z. The song begins with, “Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained?” The general public surely is. But what about Jay-Z’s new competitors in the sports agency industry who are quickly losing their clients to the rap mogul?

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